Men find breaking up is harder to bear

BREAK-UPS leave men more heartbroken than women, research has suggested.

A study of nearly 200,000 people who posted about their relationship problems online found that men were more likely to talk about their “heartbreak” than women.

The research challenged stereotypes that men are less invested in their relationships and are instead “stigmatised” into not expressing their feelings.

The findings come after an international team of psychologists, led by Lancaster University, looked at people who posted anonymously about their relationships in an online forum. Posts from more than 184,000 people were analysed and mapped to establish what were the most common themes among couples experiencing troubles.

However, as the research progressed, academics found unexpected patterns around male posters using more effusive language to express their feelings when online.

“We realised that this was an important opportunity to put a lot of common ideas about gender differences in relationships to the test,” said Dr Ryan Boyd, the lead researcher of the project.

“Are men truly less emotionally invested in relationships than women, or is it the case that men are simply stigmatised out of sharing their feelings?”

Analyses soon revealed that the most common theme mentioned by posters talking about their relationship problems was the emotional pain, rather than the problems themselves.

When analysed by gender, the team found that men talked about “heartbreak” significantly more than women.

Charlotte Entwistle, the study’s lead author, said: “Notably, the fact that the heartache theme was more commonly discussed by men emphasises how men are at least as emotionally affected by relationship problems as women.”